The struggle of most college students is a financial struggle. Most of us don’t work full-time because of time constraints with classes. Those of us who do work full-time often do so at entry level jobs where the pay rarely peaks over $11.00 an hour. Those of us who are lucky enough to be in school, work full time, and make so much as $12.00 an hour still can’t seem to get out from under the weight of financial stress. We live paycheck to paycheck. We ration out our ramen noodles. We put off doing maintenance on the car most of the time at our own detriment.

There are a lot of reasons that we can attribute to why we can’t seem to be financially stable but what I believe to be one of the biggest reasons, and the one we are going to talk about today has to do with over-consumption of goods.

America has been a consumption society for the better part of 60 years now. We’ve come from the days where you’d go to a grocery store and find simply sugar, flour, butter, and eggs in bland white writing; to a literal rainbow of marketing designs with labels such as “I can’t believe it’s not butter.” Or “Simply Sugar” and at least one hundred different types of flower and flower substitutes. The producer of our nation has invested countless billions on psychologists whose job it is to find out what makes us tick and what gets us to grab their product off the shelf instead of the other guys. Many people have a preference of brands over little things. There are Pepsi people and there are Coke people (I am the latter). There are Ford people and there are Chevy people (unless you are like me, then you are a Jeep guy). Companies have made us develop a sense of identity with by buying their products. That is how they create lifetime customers.

I am no different, there are several brands that I feel a sense of loyalty to. In my case, they are all veteran owned brands such as Ranger Up Clothing, Article 15, Black Rifle Coffee, etc. I identify with those brands because I am a veteran and because I believe in their products. I will never drink another brand of coffee other than BRCC and most of my wardrobe are undeniably veteran. I have become lifetime customers and even more so, I am now more likely to buy from other brands in the circle of these companies.

Now there is nothing wrong with good marketing and consuming the products that you like and support. The relationship between the producer and the consumer as well as the ongoing competition between brands is how this company was built and turned into an economic superpower. Go Laissez-Faire Capitalism! The problem for us (and our wallets) arrives when we start buying more than we can afford. Assisted by the one-click-buy of Amazon, splurge shopping has become a serious problem for Americans. We like having packages show up to our door like Christmas presents from ourselves. We spend so much money on material possessions that we become numb to the impulse of shopping. There is no longer a moment of hesitation to hit that buy now button. Then when we go and check our bank account, we wonder why there isn’t enough money to fill up the car. We began finding external reasons for our financial woes. “My boss doesn’t pay me enough.” “Food is too expensive.” No, we just wasted our hard earned cash on stuff we really didn’t need just to impress people we really don’t even like.

But what’s the solution to our spending addiction? Cut it out cold turkey? HA! That’s never going to happen in this country and I for one am not going to go back to Caribou Coffee. The reality is that the people who are benefiting most from this system are the producers. They understand the psychology behind their marketing and they are careful not to fall for it themselves. They consume products within their means but are careful not to become addicted to shopping. Without understanding the system at play you can’t hope to resist it.